This was social media at its best. A fan interested in a product takes up the mantel of that product on behalf of the brand and evangelizes for it in their own communities. Even I had to second guess my Zune bashing, if a seemingly sane man was willing to permanently brand himself with its logo for no money or other consideration.

Fast forward two years and the flip side of social media shows how quickly a brand can be torn down. The Zune tattoo guy is back and he is not happy. In a video posted to YouTube mszunefan (aka Zune Tattoo guy) outlines why he is unhappy with Microsoft. In a fairly damning and somewhat compelling video he highlights why he thinks the product has failed and its lack of future prospects. Clearly indicating the the 50 thousand people who have watchde it so far that they should avoid the Zune.

From fan to foe in a Web 2.0 minute. Social media giveth and social media taketh away.

Males Love VideoLongTime
It’s been a reading week for me. Lots of great stuff to mull over and help shape ones thinking about digital media. Lets start with a report by consultancy Frank N. Magid & Associates with the irresistibly tantalizing header “80% of 18 – 24 Males Watch Online Video“. Only 53% of their female counter-parts are watching an equal amount of video. The report goes on to claim that news clips are the most watched content type. Teenage cat fights, skating injuries and soft-core porn dont even chart according to the report thus greatly reducing its credibility. Via Digital Media Wire

Ladies Love Drunk TextingEver gotten a drunk text at 3am from a former girlfriend, proclaiming her undying love and mounting desire for you? Maybe this just happens to me… Well, thanks to a new survey put out by Samsung we now have some fun research on these women. Yup folks, the technocrats at Samsung have put out a pretty funny research report outlining some of the cell usage behaviors of single women. The title is a good indication of the rest of the report: “Single Mobile Females Find New BFF: Their Cell Phone“. It’s a funny fast read lite on details with blog worthy data pulls like 40% of women experience “text shame” the morning after texting while inebriated.

I’m not really a geek though I sometimes play one to great effect. Geeks are weird. I know that, you know that, its just one of those things in life you have to accept. But why in heavens name would you brand yourself with the logo for a crappy first gen Microsoft brick? There is another image and the funniest fanboy love fest happening in the comments on the site, its well worth the visit if only to see geek homoerotica in action. Of course, mszunefan (pictured below) may get the last laugh if this proves to be a fairly well done Photoshop hoax. I really really hope its a hoax.

Unless MS does something amazingly stoopid and unseemly I promise not to post anything else about the Zune. But this article from the Chicago Sun-Times is the latest (and perhaps most brutal) support for my view that the Zune is a flop.

Then go ahead and buy a Zune. You’ll find that the Zune Planet orbits the music industry’s Bizarro World, where users aren’t allowed to do anything that isn’t in the industry’s direct interests.

Ouch! Now thats harsh and a fitting note on which to end my Zune obsession.

I came across this YouTube clip on Spicy Gadget Roll of a Zune review on CNN. All I can say is OUCH! Its supposed to be one of those normal softball reviews TV networks are famous for and it starts off well enough but by the end Soledad has her iPod Shuffle out and they are debating the problems with MS design. Its too funny, you gotta watch it:

PaidContent has a post on the Apple teaming up with a number of airlines to have the iPod integrated into their in-flight entertainment options. The article points out that the timing matched the retail launch of MS’s Zune player and serve’s as a reminder of just how far MS will have to go before it can dislodge Apple from its dominant DMP position.

Today the Zune player from Windows will explode from the shelves of 30,000 stores around the country, to what I anticipate will be the collective yawn of a “me-to” device weary public.
Will Microsoft spend billions pushing the Zune player on the market? Yes.
Will they make a huge splash in the press? Yes.
Will they put out a press release within a week and tout how many Zune’s they’ve foisted off on unsuspecting luddites sold? Yes.Will it fail get any real traction and have a minimal impact on the market for digital players? Yes!
Now some might say I’m simply playa hatin’ (excuse the pun and the misappropriated vernacular) the on the Zune, so I’ve put together this list of the top 10 reasons the Zune will fail in the market.